It’s been 26 years since Spike Lee‘s provocative Do the Right Thing debuted, and since Hollywood has been digging deep into the past for sequels, reboots and remakes, it only makes sense that they would revive the racially charged drama.

However, in case you haven’t noticed, Brooklyn has changed a lot since 1989. As Jimmy Kimmel noted during one of his episodes being taped in New York last week, “There used to be muggers right in this neighborhood stealing old ladies’ purses. Now those old lady purses are being worn ironically by hipsters in the area.” And that’s exactly what inspired the trailer for Do the Right Thing 2, starring Billy Crudup, Zooey Deschanel and more white people. Read More »

Hi, /Film. My name is Jacob Hall and my favorite movies are part of me on a molecular level. Cut me open and the films that have defined my life come spilling out in a great, red heap. So when I was asked to introduce myself to you guys, the community, via a list of my favorite movies of all time, I prepared myself for some gritty, Robert-De-Niro-in-Ronin-style surgery. This list is me being cut open for your amusement.

The Oscars inevitably bring a lot of grumbling about which films the Academy has overlooked. But if one of your favorites is among them, perhaps you can at least take heart in the fact that it’s in great company. The Oscars have a very long history of backing the wrong horse. Some of what we now view as unimpeachable classics weren’t even seen as Best Picture nomination-worthy at the time.

The last time we heard from Spike Lee he was bemoaning his inability to get a film financed. After Miracle at St. Anna flopped three years ago, he couldn’t even get moneymen interested in a sequel to his most successful film, Inside Man, despite having stars like Clive Owen ready to go. There’s the report that Spike might direct the Oldboy remake that has been in development for quite some time, but that isn’t likely to happen soon. So when the director tweeted this morning that he was on the way to the first day of shooting for “the new Spike Lee joint,” what was he talking about? Perhaps a film called Red Hook Summer, in which he will reportedly revive one of his most famous characters: Mookie, from Do the Right Thing. Read More »

As part of the screening put together in relation to the SXSW Title Design Competition, Ian Albinson from the website The Art of the Title Sequence put together a nice two and a half minute compendium of excellent film titles. (That features an occasional piece of television, too.) For any long-time film lover, this little video will probably elicit quite a few responses simply on the strength of the title cards on display. I queued several films to re-watch after exposure to just a few seconds of their titles.

Sitting opposite Ed Norton in an empty conference room in a skyrise, one can’t avoid thinking about the hyper-charged situations he’s glared down on film. Clad in a black shirt and noticeably relaxed, he takes a moment before responding to a question, pressing a small washer-like object into the table and letting it spring back. It allows a brief window to search for the chiseled Nazi skinhead who forced a thug to tooth a curb in American History X. And for the office drone who scaled barbwire fences late at night to steal the excess fat of women and absorbed grueling punches in Fight Club. And for the smack dealer in 25th Hour who walked man’s best friend by a World Trade Center-less horizon, as unprepared for a future in the clink as the U.S. was for its uncertain present.

Norton is obsessively drawn to characters whose scariest adversary is in the mirror. It doesn’t matter if the playing field is a study in madness or a testy, possibly concluded, stint in the Marvel Universe as Bruce Banner. His latest film, a thoughtful thriller entitled Leaves of Grass, puts a literal spin on his interest in duality. He plays formerly estranged, highly intelligent twins—one a respected and reserved philosophy professor, the other a shaggy distributor of hydroponic marijuana.